GIVEN Alex Eala’s doubles success in international play as a junior netter, reigning Australian Open champion Coco Gauff of the US said her decision to team up with the Filipina tennis star in the Italian Open was a no-brainer, the tennis.com website reported yesterday (Sunday in Europe).
“I’m super happy to play with her (Eala), and obviously she’s a killer in doubles: two junior Slams and probably some future ones, too,” said Gauff of her new partner, who won the Australian Open and French Open girls doubles titles with different partners in 2020 and 2021, respectively.
Their partnership got off to a fine start over the weekend, overwhelming the pair of Italian Fanny Stollar and Russian Alexandra Panova 6-1, 6-3, in the opening round of the women’s doubles at the Foro Italico Tennis Center in Rome, Italy.
Gauff disclosed that it was Eala who had reached out to her on Instagram for a possible doubles collaboration.
“She (Eala) DM’d (direct messaged) me on Instagram. She slid into my DMs and asked me to play. I was like, ‘Sure, why not?’ We really didn’t know each other, honestly, before Madrid,” the American recalled of the overtures.
“I said hi to her for the first time in Madrid or maybe Miami, we may have briefly said hello. I figured she would be nice, so I was just hoping she would be, you know?”
Once they got together, the American ace said she and Eala were able to hit it off, noting that “obviously, she’s such a nice person. When there are people finally my age on tour, I’m glad to interact. For me, it was a good opportunity to play doubles but also have a relaxed vibe with another player.”
A former tennis prodigy herself, Gauff, 21, was pleased at the way Eala, 19, now ranked No. 70 in the Women’s Tennis Association ratings, was coping with the pressures of tennis stardom.
“She (Eala) seems to be handling it super well. There are ups and downs in the sport, but you realize that the media is there to kind of paint that story and make it more interesting, but that shouldn’t be added pressure or anything like that,” she said with empathy.
“She (Eala) seems chill. She seems like she’s working hard, so I don’t have any advice for her, just because she seems relaxed. The only thing I did tell her was that doubles helped me a lot in that space, having some time on court where it’s a little less stressful. So, I encouraged her to play when she could,” Gauff added.
Impressed by “Eala’s gumption (to ask Gauff as her doubles partner in the Italian Open), the two have turned out to be a formidable team, and they’ll next face the all-Italian team of Tyra Grant and Lisa Pigato later this week,” the tennis.com report said.
